Feeding mechanism.



No. 637,938. Patented Nov. 28, I899.

. c. LEFFLE'R.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Oct. 6, 1898;)

(No Model.)

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WITNESSES:

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron.

CHARLES LEFFLER, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

FEEDING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,938, dated November 28, 1899. Application filed October 6, 1898. Serial No. 692,795- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES LEFFLER,a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Brooklyn and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to feeding devices adapted for feeding material in the form of a strip or ribbon, and is especially applicable to machines having reciprocating parts, such as stamps and presses.

The invention is an improvement upon the feeding device described in Patent No. 598,307, issued to me February 1, 1898, the object being to simplify the device and render it more accurate in operation.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved feeding device with portions of the machine to which it is attached. Fig. 2 is a section on line a: a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows edge and face views of the strip or ribbon of material which is fed by my improvedfeeding device.

The material which this feeding device is designed to act upon particularly is a metal strip at, having downwardly-turned claws a and notches a along each edge. Such a strip is used to reinforce and fasten the corners of pasteboard boxes and is applied by means of a die which by a single blow bends the strip over the corner of the box and drives its claws into the material thereof. The feeding devices constituting my invention are designed to feed the strip to the dies.

A represents a portion of the upper or reciprocating die-head, in the lower face of which a passage-way b is formed, into which the strip is fed after each downward stroke. The lower die is not shown in the drawings, but to the rear of it is located a table B, the forward edge of which carries a knife b',adapted to cut off the strip at the proper length just before the two dies come together. The upper die is formed with a T-shaped projection 0, provided with a vertical groove 0 in its face, containing a spring 0 The upper end of this groove is covered by a plate 0 and the lower end terminates in a square shoulder 0 The feeding devices are mounted in a frame E, provided with a vertical T-shaped groove embracing the T-shaped projection c on the diehead and adapted to move vertically thereon. The frame E is provided with a lug 6, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) which projects into the groove c and stands normally above the square shoulder c and with the lower end of the spring resting upon it. The frame E is also provided with a bracket f, carrying a setscrew, by which the normal vertical position of the frame E upon the die-head may be adjusted. Along the bottom of the frame E a passage-way g for the strip is formed, which leads to the passage 2) in the lower face of the die-head. Vertically above this groove 9 is a disk It, having on its periphery two rows of lugs h',which are respectively adapted to enter the notches in the edges of the strip. These lugs project into the passage-way g to thus engage with the strip. The periphery of the disk is also provided with ratchet-teeth i, and the disk is mounted loosely upon a shaftj, having its bearing in the frame E. This shaft also carries a pinion 7;, which is locked thereto, and an arm I, also looked to the shaft and carrying at its outer extremity a pawl m, engaging with the ratchet-teeth i. A stationary pawl m is provided to prevent backward motion of the disk. r is a vertical rack-bar mounted to slide in suitable bearings r in the frame E. Its rack engages with the pinion 7c. The upper end of the bar is fitted with an adj ustable screw 7 which is adapted to strike an adjustable stop 8, suitably fixed in a guide or bracket 3. A spring r is arranged between the bar 0" and the frame E to lift the bar and tend to maintain it against the stop .9. The bar is also provided with a lug'r which limits its upward movement with respect to frame E.

The operation of feeding is as follows With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 the strip has just been fed to the left into the die and the die is ready to start downward. In moving downward the frame E is carried with the die and the strip is cut off by the knife b,the upperdie continuing downward to meet the lower die, while the frame E strikes and rests upon the table B, frame E being caused thereby to slide vertically upon the die-head. In this downward movement of the parts the spring 9' pulls bar 7" upward through its bearings until the lug r strikes the lower bearing, arm Z being thereby thrown upward. After lug r strikes the bearing the rack-bar moves downward with the other parts, leaving the stop 5. On the upward movement of the die and frame E no rotation of the disk h takes place untilthe upper end of the rack-bar strikes stop .5. After striking it the rack-bar is arrested while the other parts continue upward, the pinion being rotated, arm Z swung downward, and disk 72, rotated until the upward movement of the die is finished, the strip being fed to the left into the die. Hence the higher stop 5 is adjusted the shorter will be the feed of the strip, and vice versa. The arm Z will always swing upward or backward to the same point regardless of the adjustment of stop 8, this motion being determined by the position of lug r, butits downward or feeding motion will be determined by stop 3. The length of feed in any given position of stop 5 is shown by the scale i, over which an index moves when the position of the stop is changed.

While I have described a feeding-disk with lugs on its periphery, it is evident that this construction is merely to fit the particular kind of strip acted upon and that the disk may represent a feeding-roller or one of a pair or train of feeding-rollers having smooth or other specially-designed surfaces, the gist of the invention being the means for rotating the feeding element whatever its character.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a feeding device, the combination of a rotary feeding element having a bodily-reciprocating movement, a rack-bar having two reciprocating movements, one of which is in unison withthat of the feeding element,while the other is in opposition thereto, and means whereby the feeding element is rotated when the rack-bar is moving in its opposing direction, substantially as described.

2. In a feeding device, the combination of a rotary feeding element having a bodily-reciprocating movement, a rack-bar having a reciprocating movement therewith, connections between the feeding element and the rack} bar whereby the movement of the latter in one direction will cause the rotation of the feeding element, and a stop to arrest the rackbar in one direction, substantially as described. v

3[ In afeeding device, the combination of a rotary feeding element having a bodily-reciprocating movement, a rack-bar having a reciprocating movement therewith, connections between the feeding element and the rackbar whereby the movement of the latter in one direction will cause the rotation of the feeding element and an adjustable stop to arrest the rack-bar in one direction, substan tially as described.

4. In afeeding device, the combination of a rotary feeding element having a bodily-reciprocating movement,a ratchet connected therewith, a rack-bar having two reciprocating movements, one of which is in unison with that of the feeding element, while the other is in opposition thereto, a pinion engaging with the rack-bar, an arm on the shaft with the pinion, a pawl carried by the arm and-engaging with the ratchet, the pawl being moved freely over the ratchet during one movement of the rack-bar and engaging and moving the ratchet during the other movement.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. LE FFLER.

WVitnesses:

WM. A. ROSENBAUM, FRANK S. OBER. 

